In preparation for this review I sat down and watched a couple of episodes of the show this toy comes from. I learned nothing. I was thrown into instant confusion. I gave up.

It’s too bad because I really liked the look of the Tauburn and had high hopes for something original. Alas, it was not to be. But that does not mean that the toy is not cool looking.

The basic gist of Star Driver is that there are these stone statues that look vaguely like giant robots called Cybodies. In order to pilot one, you have to go through some process called “Apprivoise” where the pilot has to synch with the statue and you get transported to some pocket dimension called Zero Time. It is in this other space that the robot can exist. Oh, and all the pilots are teenagers that go to some school on an island, and of course there’s an evil base on the island too.

But of course, the mysterious hero (called, I kid you not – Galactic Pretty Boy aka Ginga Bishounen) shows up out of nowhere and can pilot his robot better and faster to defeat the evil dudes. Believe me, I am simplifying this greatly. Its way too involved in the first two episodes for its own good.

The Star Driver Tauburn toy is decidedly not complicated. It’s a simple, funky action figure with a wide range of articulation.

Tauburn is tall and lanky, invoking the aesthetics of Evangelion if it had been developed in Victorian England. It’s an odd concept, but it’s actually very refreshing.

The head of Tauburn features a big poof of what appears to be hair. The face looks like it is wearing a masquerade mask. Perhaps this is the first Bishounen Robot?

The chest reminds me of a Big-O Megadeus that went on a diet. The middle of the chest features a clear orb where the pilot would sit. The two sections of the shoulder pivot forward and back, and just below the orb there is a ball joint.

Each arm features a ball joint in the shoulder, hinged elbows, and wrists that both swivel and bend. The hands are removable and the figure comes with X sets of hands. The fingers are long and odd looking. This robot has ET fingers.

The waist is static, but there is a cool feature. The backside features these floating pieces or armor that are connected via a translucent part. Each piece is on a ball joint. It’s supposed to give the impression of floating freely, and it does a convincing job.

The legs are long and lanky, and connect at the hip with a ball joint. The knees are hinge joints. The ankles are a bit flimsy as the feet are very small. The feet connect to the leg with another ball joint that allows for both rotation and angle. The best way I can describe the feet are “Buccaneer Elf high heels”. They don’t offer a lot of support.

Articulation is great but I found the joints a little bit on the loose side. It can pose, but there’s a tendency to fall over because of the height and the small feet. Fortunately a stand is included.

The stand has a star shaped base, and is a deep translucent red which I find a little distracting. It requires a small clear adapter (included) to attach to the figure. The stand does an adequate job holding up the robot.

The only weapons included are two translucent swords. The green one is called “Emmeraude” and the blue one “Saphir”.

I think Star Driver has the potential to be an engaging show for someone with more patience than I. The various robots have a unique look to them, and it’s clear there is a lot of depth to the mythos surrounding them.

I mostly really enjoyed this series, at first it was a real return to form for Yoji Enokido, who also wrote Utena, FLCL, Ouran, debuted with Sailor Moon R and co-wrote the original Evangelion TV series with Hideaki Anno. The series had a very Utena-esque vibe to it in general with added nods to the mahou shoujo genre and playing with various other anime tropes, all of which was interesting in a shounen, super robot-oriented context.

However, having watched the entire series, I felt the ending was rushed or cut short, and the general formula felt outdated, too episodic with little progression and very little sense of much at stake (despite all the oft-uttered implications of bringing the CyBodies outside Zero Time into the outside world), failing to live up to more than its surface resemblance to Utena. It was a fun ride with a few sparks of brilliance here and there, but largely a fluffy one. Nothing wrong with that, really, just it could have been a lot more than just another standard bit of anime entertainment, IMHO.

Not sure I care for this toy interpretation though. It does fairly accurate portray the lines of the Tauburn, but there's something about the Three Musketeers-esque, dandyish, dare I say "fabulous" look of the thing that really only seems to express itself best in two dimensions. The toy just doesn't exude that same presense to my eyes.